Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

A million miles to the west of the Shiwan Mountains, this region is crisscrossed with deep mountains and vast swamps, snow-capped mountains and grasslands. It boasts numerous blessed lands rich in spiritual energy and abundant in mature spiritual herbs and medicinal herbs. However, it is rarely visited by humans. This is the territory of demonic beasts, where demonic energy permeates the air, and even great demons in the transformation stage have appeared. Any human cultivator who trespasses here will surely perish and become food for the demons.

On a vast grassland, a pack of silver wolves hunted a herd of blue cattle. The wolves howled incessantly, unleashing crescent-shaped blasts of energy from their mouths as they fiercely attacked the cattle. Not to be outdone, the blue cattle formed a circle, their horns pointed outward, emitting a cyan glow to block the scimitars. Both were level-one demonic beasts, equally matched, fighting a fierce battle, neither able to defeat the other.

In a humid swamp, a group of pythons, each as thick as a bucket, battled a group of crocodiles covered in thick armor. Demonic energy filled the air, and blood gushed forth. The leading python, a peak-level power, wrapped its massive body around the leading crocodiles, using its mystical python power to continuously compress their breathing space. Although the crocodiles held onto the pythons, their immense bite force ripped off chunks of flesh, leaving them bloody, the wounds were not fatal, and the crocodiles were ultimately defeated and swallowed by the pythons.

Deep in the mountains and ancient forests, a sturdy ape, remarkably capable of the strength of a Level 2 demonic beast, rode atop a beast with the head of a lion and the body of a tiger. It swung its massive fist like a hammer at the lion's head. The lion-tiger grimaced in pain, roaring in a state of utter anxiety. But the ape pinned it down, unable to move. A moment later, its brain splattered, and it died, leaving only a bloody mess of red and white on the ground.

Such battle scenes are constantly unfolding throughout the demon clan's territory. The law of the jungle is even more vividly displayed in the demon clan, with bloodshed and brutality rife everywhere. Demon clan advancement relies primarily on combat, requiring constant fighting. They lack magical weapons for self-defense, but their bodies are their greatest weapon. Their cultivation techniques are inherited through bloodline, and upon reaching a certain level, they automatically acquire the techniques and abilities. Therefore, bloodline is paramount; higher-level bloodlines increase their power and advancement. They possess long lifespans, but their spiritual intelligence develops later, making their advancement even slower. While low-level demon beasts are numerous, the number of great demon beasts in the Transformation stage far outnumbers that of human Nascent Soul cultivators. If it weren't for the efforts of several tenth-level demon beasts, they would have been annihilated by humans long ago. Level one demon beasts typically have the intelligence of a three-year-old child, fighting on instinct. Only those with the bloodline of divine beasts or the consumption of elixirs that awaken their intelligence can achieve premature enlightenment. Only great demons above level eight can refine their transverse bones and transform into human form, and only great demons above level seven can refine their jawbones and speak human language. Otherwise, they can only convey their meaning through their spiritual consciousness and thoughts.

Low-ranking disciples of the human and demon races attack each other, but unless a large-scale attack or genocide occurs, the higher-ups won't intervene. Cultivators slay demons to obtain their elixirs. The corpses of demon beasts are transformed into high-level refining materials, which are then refined into various magical instruments. The demon elixirs are then refined into elixirs that enhance cultivation. Demon beasts also hunt human cultivators, providing a valuable boost to their cultivation. At the same level, human cultivators often lack the physical strength and ferocity of demon beasts, and if encountered, they often become prey. However, cultivators possess a higher level of intelligence, able to exploit their environment and ingenuity to overcome the stronger or escape.

Deep in the mountains, within a top-tier cave abode rich in spiritual energy, sat a thin, shifty-looking old man in a brocade robe on a throne. He was short, with long fingernails on both hands. He leaned on a emerald cane in his left hand, and stroked his spiky white goatee with his right. His eyes glowed a faint green, and he seemed lost in thought. He was a demon in the Transformation Stage, the equivalent of a human Nascent Soul cultivator. His demonic aura was completely restrained, and he appeared indistinguishable from a human. After a quarter of an hour, the old man suddenly let out a sharp, squeaking sound.

A moment later, the evil aura outside was soaring into the sky. Four sturdy rats as big as dining tables came to the outside of the cave. Four pairs of small eyes were shining with bloodthirsty light. After looking at each other, the rats quickly shrank their bodies to the size of children, crawled into the cave, and crawled on the ground.

"Greetings, Rat King!" The four demons trembled as they bowed respectfully, even speaking human language. Although each possessed immense magical power, they were like ants facing the Rat King in the Transformation Stage, powerless to resist, and therefore dared not show any disrespect.

"How is the selection progress for the Secret Realm Trial?" the Rat King asked calmly.

"We have entered the final stage and everything is normal now." The golden-haired rat demon at the top of the list answered.

"There have been some minor changes this time. Here are some pills for the contestant who finally stands out. They will strive to make further progress before the secret realm opens." After the Rat King said this, he threw a bottle of pills to the Golden-haired Rat Demon.

"I obey your orders." All the monsters responded in unison.

"I wonder what happened this time? How should we deal with it?" At this time, another green-haired rat demon asked, his eyes rolling around, looking very resourceful.

"It's nothing serious. It's just a little dragon from the deep sea that suddenly came to travel in the area of ​​our seven tribes and asked to enter our secret realm for trial. He is the grandson of the Dragon King, and our tribes have to give him some face. After all, in this human world, the human race is powerful, and we, the demon race, must watch out for each other in order to find a place to survive. Everyone deal with it normally and just give orders not to harm its life." The Rat King replied calmly, seemingly unperturbed.

"Yes." When the monsters heard that there was just one more person cutting in line, they all breathed a sigh of relief and stopped worrying.

"Also, there are some blood slaves here, you guys can arrange them. As for the first-level monster trials, you can arrange them yourselves, no need to bother me anymore. I have just acquired a secret technique, and I am going to go into seclusion to comprehend it for a few years." The Rat King threw another pet bag to the golden-haired rat and waved goodbye.

"We will follow the Rat King's order and wish him great success!" The four demons congratulated in unison and turned to leave.

"There are still some good talents in this clan competition. In particular, a golden-haired rat has reached the peak level one. Even ordinary level two monsters are no match for it." The golden-haired rat said excitedly after leaving the cave.

"Don't be careless. Think about Yuan Wu from the Savage Ape Tribe and Lang Xiao from the Silver Wolf Tribe. They all have the strength to challenge opponents above their level. There's also a dragon involved this time, so the variables are unknown. My Qiongshu Tribe mainly relies on the large size of the tribe to win, but the strength of an individual is not enough." The Green-haired Rat was not optimistic and looked worried.

"Come on, come on, these are just kids playing around. No need to hurt yourself, let's go have a drink." The other two monsters shouted carelessly, not caring at all. The golden-haired rat immediately joined them, and the green-haired rat shook his head helplessly and followed.